Only a month or so ago, I still had Shockwave 9 installed. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I have a good number of programs installed on my computer, and keeping track of which ones need updates is a real chore that I usually just (unwisely) ignore. But, then I found this great free program called Secunia PSI. Every week I just click "Scan" and it compares the software installed on my computer, including windows, with an online database, and reports anything that has known security vulnerabilities.

You're confusing the different specs. USB 2.0 theoretically runs at 480Mb/s, while USB 3.0 theoretically runs at 4.8Gb/s. So at peak speed (4.8Gb/s = 0.6GB/s), you would transfer 5GB in just over 8 seconds. So it seems the estimate of 38 seconds is based on real-world speed, not theoretical. 5 GB in 38 seconds would translate into just over 1Gb/s.

An anonymous reader writes: From Seed: In 1998 supernovae researchers discovered that, against all reason, the universe is accelerating its expansion. Cosmologists had to add to their models dark energy, a deeply mysterious placeholder that makes up more than 70 percent of universe. Over the last decade, some researchers, like Blake Temple and Joel Smoller, have gone back to see if the equations of general relativity can be interpreted to erase dark energy once and for all. Their solution, involving a long-ago shockwave, could provide a way out of a dark-energy-dominated universe.Link to Original Source

itwbennett writes: "Exploding iPhones may be a thing of the past. Researchers at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) have developed a new polymer, STOBA (that's self-terminated oligomers with hyper-branched architecture to you and me) that is added to the cathode material inside a lithium-ion battery to keep them from overheating. 'Fires or explosions in these batteries are caused by short circuits,' said Wu Hung-chun, a researcher at ITRI, explaining that even minor mishandling such as dropping the handset could result in damage causing a short circuit. 'The technology is ready for lithium-ion batteries used in electronic devices, mobile phones, laptops,' said Wu. And ITRI has started testing STOBA on electric car batteries."Link to Original Source

TechReviewAl writes: "Researchers from Stanford University and Hanyang University in Korea have found that silicon-nanotube electrodes enable lithium-ion batteries to store up to 10 times more charge. The new electrodes, developed in colaboration with Korean battery company LG Chem, store more energy because they absorb much more lithium when charged. Since the lithium-ion batteries found in cars often only last for about 30 minutes, this type of breakthrough could prove vital if electric cars are to become common. The silicon nanotube anode looks like a bunch of hollow straws. While silicon nanowires can interact with lithium only on their surface, the nanotubes have more exposed surface area inside. The same researchers are also working with LG Chem to develop better cathodes."Link to Original Source

1sockchuck writes: "Microsoft says the server rooms in its new Dublin data center can operate at temperatures of up to 95 degrees F (35 degrees C), allowing the huge facility to use outside air for cooling throughout the entire year. That means Microsoft joins Google in operating a chiller-less data center, enabling huge savings in the energy needed to cool the enormous server farms. We've not yet seen the 100-degree data center, but the warming trend is clearly gaining steam."Link to Original Source

Raising the temperature of a body of water by even a few degrees can have disastrous consequences; from outright killing species, to producing algal blooms that deplete oxygen levels (and then kill species). I mean, think about it. Water resists temperature change much more than air, so a sudden increase is bad news to creatures that just aren't made to deal with it. Also, a recent study has found that increased carbon dioxide levels are making marine life more susceptible to fluctuating temperature and oxygen levels.

But, of course, just one place in the ocean using this method isn't going to have that much effect. It's if and when this cooling strategy starts to catch on that we have to worry about affecting our environment, and weigh the consequences of air conditioning (fossil fuel emissions) versus heat pollution.

There was recently a show on Discovery Channel called "Discovery Project Earth" where they investigated different geo engineering solutions. One of them was spraying water into the air in order to make clouds reflect more sunlight. This idea is headed by physicist John Latham and engineer Stephen Salter.

Do they really think those 38 hours bought them anything? Do they honestly believe that their profits would have been reduced had a crappy cam recording been available 38 hours earlier?
I'm sorry, but I'm just not capable of managing that level of suspension of disbelief.
Seems more like a set-up for a later date in Congress where movie execs get to testify that they spent $x million to stave off the camming and all they were able to manage was 38 hours. I wonder just how dedicated they were to these "delaying tactics."

Vitamin D is essential to strong bones. Inadequate vitamin D can lead to osteoporosis, a brittle bone disease. Recently, researchers have found that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of other diseases.Link to Original Source

Posted
by
kdawsonon Tuesday February 19, 2008 @05:51PM
from the need-a-cute-mascot dept.

alphadogg is one of several readers to note the opening of the Mozilla Foundation's new subsidiary, Mozilla Messaging, charged with developing the free, open source Thunderbird email software. Mozilla Messaging will initially focus on Thunderbird 3, which aims at improving several aspects of the software, including integrated calendaring and better search. ZDNet UK's coverage leads with the interest the new organization has in developing instant-messaging software.

Posted
by
Soulskillon Sunday February 17, 2008 @04:31PM
from the taking-it-on-faith dept.

Tendraes brings us a story about legal experts who are warning that Microsoft's "covenant not to sue" over use of the OOXML specification is both ambiguous and untested. Developers wishing to make use of OOXML are unlikely to understand the complex legal language of the Open Specification Promise, and such a document - being neither a release nor a contract - has never been tested in court. From ZDNet Asia:
"David Vaile, executive director of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Center at the University of New South Wales, said that Microsoft participants at a recent symposium on the issue found it challenging to explain how an ordinary person 'or even an ordinary lawyer' could easily determine which parts of the specification were covered. 'This lack of certainty would mean a cautious lawyer may be reluctant to advise any third party to rely on the promise without extensive and potentially quite expensive analysis, and even that could be inconclusive,' Vaile said. 'In turn, this could restrict its viability as a usable standard for less well-resourced users, including small developers and many public organizations.'"